Wolverhampton Wanderers have moved into the Championship playoff positions after beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the City Ground this afternoon.
Goals from Benik Afobe and Bakary Sako have sent Kenny Jackett's men sixth and all but ended Forest's hopes of gatecrashing the top six in the process.
The first half was an evenly contested affair, with both sides carving out numerous chances. The first was created by Sako, who went on a jinking run through the Forest defence before seeing his effort deflected wide for a corner.
Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme almost gave the hosts the lead in the seventh minute when he hesitated over a clearance which Michail Antonio closed down. Fortunately for Ikeme, the ball hit Antonio and went wide for a goal kick.
Henri Lansbury and Chuba Akpom then combined in the 20th minute to feed the ball to Forest defender Michael Mancienne, whose strike from distance was tipped wide for a corner by Ikeme.
Wolves came close to scoring in the 33rd minute after Forest defender Kelvin Wilson slipped on the wet turf. Afobe went through on goal as a result, and after Reds stopper Karl Darlow blocked his effort the ball fell to Dicko, whose shot was cleared off the line by Eric Lichaj.
The West Midlands outfit opened the scoring straight from kickoff in the second half, when Forest stood off Afobe, allowing the striker to run 20 yards with the ball before he slotted beyond Darlow from the edge of the penalty area.
Forest pushed forward in search for an equaliser, but Gary Gardner missed the opportunity to level the scores as his effort from distance went well wide of the goal after he had been picked out by Chris Burke.
Wolves had the opportunity to double their lead in the 70th minute when Lansbury brought down Sako in the area and a penalty was awarded. Sako then sent Darlow the wrong way from the spot to make it 2-0.
Forest controlled possession in the closing stages and gave themselves hope two minutes into stoppage time through Dexter Blackstock, who netted his third goal in as many games with a rising finish.
However, the goal came too late for Forest, who now sit 11 points adrift of the playoffs with six games remaining.
Steven Toplis
